


Sign Language

by abetternameneeded



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-06
Updated: 2021-01-06
Packaged: 2021-03-16 13:54:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28583094
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/abetternameneeded/pseuds/abetternameneeded
Summary: Wish!Hook worries that Alice isn't speaking.
Relationships: Wishverse Captain Hook | Detective Rogers & Alice Jones | Tilly
Comments: 1
Kudos: 5





	Sign Language

**Author's Note:**

  * For [zacobyz](https://archiveofourown.org/users/zacobyz/gifts).



Killian sat near his daughter as she played with her blocks. She was getting older and learning new things all the time. She'd learned how to walk. And she laughed and cried at varying frequencies. She was still quite yoing. But she was defintley the age where she should be saying a few words. But she waan't. She babbled but that was about it. None of the words were rwmotely discernible. But she was still young. He wasn't that woeried. At first. But then she was two. And stkll nothing. Maybe kids had changed in the last few centuries? Maybe they didn't speak as young as he remebered? He was worried though.

Would she ever speak? Maybe she didn't feel the need to? Was something wrong? Had he done something wrong? Was this his fault? Yes. He blamed himself. Who else was there to blame? He was the only person she was around. The only sojrce of anything outside of this stone tower and he was failing her. He worried. Her life was difficult enough. She didn't need any more challenges. Eventually she would leave this tower and she was akready going to have to learn so much and adapt so much more than most kids, her not being able to talk would just be anpther obstsncle for her! She needed to be happy. Was she? What was he doing wrong?

She grabbed her ball and brought it over. His panic set aside for a moment.

"Do you want to play?"

Alice nodded. Ball.

"Ok, let's play with your ball." Killian talked to her constantly. Partly for his own sanity. But she didn't respond verbally. Hardly at all. She'd make sone spunds but nothibg that anyone outside of him would be able to ubderstand. He worried that she never would. That she'd never feel the need to. Was there anyway to communicate with her that wouldn't require words? Something a bit more strsightforward than just guessing and hoping for the best? That had led to at least a few tantrums already. And a frustrsted toddler surrounded by stone was nesrly deafening. How he'd made it through even one was beyond him.

He took his hands and made them into an almlst cirxar ahape. "Ball." He said it as he made this gesture. Which Alice immediatly mimiced back to him. Ok. That might work.

So he started do this for everything. He'd make up some kind lf gesture for the things he was talking about. It wasn't a formal language. But it was something. A way for her to tell him what she wanted, it'd cut down the number of tears signifigsntly, and Alice had calmed quite a bit as well.

They used this for months. He still encouraged her ro speak. Constantly speaking as he made the motions for whatever it was he was talking about.

It took her a while to leaen how to speak. But she eventually did. But if she evwr got too overhwelmed she'd fall back on their old way lf communicating. She could do that so muvh quicker when she was scared or too frustrated with the tower.

Years later sometimes Killian woukd catch himself moving hisbhands in those all too familar shapes. Comforting his daughter who wasn't around.

"You know sign language?" Robin asked one day when she saw him as she was delivering a letter from alice.

"Not quite, lass. Just something I made up when Alice was little and hadn't quite lewrned how to speak."

It was hard to bekjeve there was ever a time Alice didn't talk but it made sense. She wouldn't have had a reason to. "Defintley helped a lot until then."

They talked for a little while and he let her know he'd have a letter for her to take to alice soon.


End file.
